A perennial front yard in full bloom in early summer. Designed and maintained by Sanctuary Home and Garden Design this garden includes red flax, purple sea lavender, yellow kangaroo paw, and lavender.

Replace Your Lawn with Perennials

These homeowners have made a complete change to their front yard by removing the lawn and installing drought tolerant--and very colorful--flowering perennials. This award-winning garden is, surprisingly, only one year old which means the owners purchased almost mature plants -- which can be an very expensive proposition. On the other hand, they did not have to wait three or four years for the garden to look gorgeous!

Among the plants in the photo: golden yellow Kangaroo paw, purple sea lavender, aloe with tall red blooms. For ground cover between the perennials: pink flowering miniature ice plants and dark green creeping rosemary.

	Many homeowners take a more gradual and economical approach by replacing the lawn in a parking median first. Much of this area is covered with ground covers, including creeping rosemary, miniature ice plants, and gray-green Dymondia margaretae. The red flowers on spires are aloe. For more ideas and photos for parking medians, go here.
	Another way to begin is to start with a drought tolerant border and then--year after year--expand it. Several of the plants shown here could be divided and replanted to save even more money. Plants in this border: red Fountain grass, lambs ears, society garlic, white roses and flax. Note: Flax does not do well in desert areas.

If you intend to plant your front yard with blooming perennials, spend some time at a good local nursery and ask which perennials will do well in your area. And because perennials--especially mature ones-- are such a considerable investment, be sure to prepare the soil by adding significant amounts of organic mulch before you plant.

Another thing to keep in mind -- the scale of the plants. Make sure they are approximately the same size when grown, so one or two perennials do not overshadow and become larger than the rest. 

Replacing your lawn -- read this for what NOT to do

Replacing your lawn with ornamental grasses

Replacing your lawn with ground covers

Replacing your lawn with pavers

Replacing your lawn with mazes and knot gardens

Replacing the lawn in your parking strip